Writing in Swedish as a First Language (L1) and English as a Foreign Language (FL): A Topic-Related Functional Perspective

This presentation reports on a study of the writing behaviour of some (n=21) Swedish speaking 14-15-year olds when composing in Swedish, their first language, and in English as a foreign language. The approach taken in this study is a psycholinguistic/cognitive one using the key-stroke logging tool, ScriptLog (Strömqvist & Karlsson, 2002; Strömqvist & Malmsten, 1998, see www.scriptlog.net for a demonstration of its use). There are also in-depth studies of two of the subjects writing in L1 and FL. The tools used for this part of the study are the qualitative analysis tools called ?framing devices? and ?potential completion points?, (Spelman Miller, K., 2006). These tools have been used to examine the writing of the two subjects from the point of view of the emerging text and, in so doing, possibly gain a greater understanding of the association between the textual structure of output and the underlying cognitive processes. The focus of the study of framing devices is on topic introduction and continuation. The questions addressed in this study concern the differences/similarities between L1 and FL with regard to the writing process, the existence (or not) of individual profiles and, whether or not such individual profiles remain consistent in FL writing. Other areas of focus have been the differences between the final edited L1 texts, on the one hand, and the final edited FL texts on the other hand, and whether or not the qualitative analysis tools used in the case studies enable us to gain an understanding of individual writing profiles and their consistency (or lack thereof) when writing in English as a foreign language. The quantitative results are borne out by the results of previous studies. The qualitative results can by no means be generalized since they are based on the writing of merely two of the participants. However, they nonetheless provide us with increased insight and a slightly greater understanding of the ways in which writers might manage topic continuity and coherence in L1 and FL respectively

Environmental contamination by vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in Swedish broiler production

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vancomycin resistant enterococci are a frequent cause of nosocomial infections and their presence among farm animals is unwanted. Using media supplemented with vancomycin an increase in the proportion of samples from Swedish broilers positive for vancomycin resistant enterococci has been detected. The situation at farm level is largely unknown. The aims of this study were to obtain baseline knowledge about environmental contamination with vancomycin resistant enterococci in Swedish broiler production and the association between environmental contamination and colonisation of birds.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Environmental samples were taken before, during and after a batch of broilers at three farms. Samples were cultured both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively for vancomycin resistant enterococci. In addition, caecal content from birds in the batch following at each farm was cultured qualitatively for vancomycin resistant enterococci.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The number of samples positive for vancomycin resistant enterococci varied among the farms. Also the amount of vancomycin resistant enterococci in the positive samples and the proportion of caecal samples containing vancomycin resistant enterococci varied among the farms. Still, the temporal changes in environmental contamination followed a similar pattern in all farms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Vancomycin resistant enterococci persist in the compartments even after cleaning and the temporal changes in environmental contamination were similar among farms. There were however differences among farms regarding both degree of contamination and proportion of birds colonized with vancomycin resistant enterococci. The proportion of colonized birds and the amount of vancomycin resistant enterococci in the compartments seems to be associated. If the factor(s) causing the differences among farms could be identified, it might be possible to reduce both the risk for colonisation by vancomycin resistant enterococci of the subsequent flock and the risk for spread of vancomycin resistant enterococci via the food chain to humans.</p

Leg health, growth and carcass characteristics in growing-finishing pigs of two different genotypes reared on Swedish organic farms

Increased prevalence of joint abnormalities at slaughter among pigs from organically certified herds in Sweden has been reported. Most of these abnormalities are caused by osteochondrosis, which has a genetic background. Thus, we investigated whether changing the sire breed from the commonly used Hampshire to the commercially available sire breed Duroc affected joint health and growth rate. We studied 766 commercially reared growing-finishing pigs from insemination of the mother sow until slaughter. The pigs were raised at four commercial organic farms (integrated or externally integrated, and had 40–160 sows in production)and slaughtered at one slaughter plant. We found no significant difference between the offspring of the two sire breeds regarding back conformation, leg conformation, swollen joints, locomotion or lameness at 13 or 24 weeks of age, or regarding joint abnormalities at slaughter. This indicates that clinical leg health will not be improved by changing sire breed. However, the Hampshire-sired pigs had higher daily growth rate(P< 0.008), allowing earlier slaughter

Значение специфических инфекций у беременных в развитии хронической плацентарной недостаточности

ПЛАЦЕНТАРНАЯ НЕДОСТАТОЧНОСТЬБЕРЕМЕННОСТИ ОСЛОЖНЕНИЯПОЛОВЫМ ПУТЕМ ПЕРЕДАВАЕМЫЕ БОЛЕЗНИИНФЕКЦИ

Cultural perspectives on vaginal birth after previous caesarean section in countries with high and low rates — A hermeneutic study

BackgroundCaesarean section (CS) rates are increasing worldwide, an increase that is multifactorial and not well understood. There is considerable variation in the rates of vaginal birth after prev ..

Skapar digitaliseringen teknologisk arbetslöshet?

Syftet i den här uppsatsen är att diskutera om det finns historiska trender som tyder på att digitaliseringen kommer skapa teknologisk arbetslöshet i framtiden. Således är därför frågeställningen huruvida dagens teknologi, digitaliseringen, skapar teknologisk arbetslöshet. För att kunna besvara uppsatsens frågeställning används en kvantitativ metod där sekundärdata på länders olika branscher samt litteraturstudier ligger till grund. Uppsatsen fokuserar på att studera Sverige, Storbritannien och USA utifrån ett långt- och kort perspektiv. Digitaliseringen har möjliggjort att allt fler uppgifter idag kan genomföras på nya sätt. Resultatet visar på att det finns trender som indikerar att digitaliseringen i en allt större bemärkelse kan sprida sig till fler branscher och på så sätt skapa teknologisk arbetslöshet. På lång sikt visar inte uppsatsen några tecken på teknologisk arbetslöshet. På kort sikt finns fåtalet tendenser som visar på att digitaliseringen skapar teknologisk arbetslöshet i Sverige och USA. Eftersom digitaliseringen sker i en exponentiell hastighet hävdar uppsatsen att en potentiell teknologisk arbetslöshet är att befara. Ett sätt att motverka den potentiella teknologiska arbetslösheten är att höja utbildningsnivån

Effects of Birthing Room Design on Maternal and Neonate Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Aim: To summarize, categorize, and describe published research on how birthing room design influences maternal and neonate physical and emotional outcomes. Background: The physical healthcare environment has significant effects on health and well-being. Research indicates that birthing environments can impact women during labor and birth. However, summaries of the effects of different environments around birth are scarce. Methods: We conducted a systematic review, searching 10 databases in 2016 and 2017 for published research from their inception dates, on how birthing room design influences maternal and neonate physical and emotional outcomes, using a protocol agreed a priori. The quality of selected studies was assessed, and data were extracted independently by pairs of authors and described in a narrative analysis. Results: In total, 3,373 records were identified and screened by title and abstract; 2,063 were excluded and the full text of 278 assessed for analysis. Another 241 were excluded, leaving 15 articles presenting qualitative and quantitative data from six different countries on four continents. The results of the analysis reveal four prominent physical themes in birthing rooms that positively influence on maternal and neonate physical and emotional outcomes: (1) means of distraction, comfort, and relaxation; (2) raising the birthing room temperature; (3) features of familiarity; and (4) diminishing a technocratic environment. Conclusions: The evidence on how birthing environments affect outcomes of labor and birth is incomplete. There is a crucial need for more research in this field

Selective frontal neurodegeneration of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) demonstrated by diffusion tensor tractography

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The clinical presentation in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), an atypical parkinsonian disorder, includes varying degrees of frontal dysexecutive symptoms. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tractography (DTT), we investigated whether diffusion changes and atrophy of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO) occurs in PSP and if these changes correlate with disease stage and clinical phenotype. The corticospinal tract (CST), which is often involved in PSP, was investigated for comparison.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>DTI of the whole brain was performed with a 3 T MR scanner using a single shot-EPI sequence with diffusion encoding in 48 directions. Scans were obtained in patients with PSP (n = 13) and healthy age-matched controls (n = 12). DTT of the IFO and CST was performed with the PRIDE fibre tracking tool (Philips Medical System). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were calculated and correlated with disease stage and clinical phenotype.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In patients with PSP, significantly decreased FA and increased ADC was found in the frontal part of IFO compared with the medial and occipital parts of IFO, as well as compared to controls. Four of the thirteen patients with PSP showed a marked decrease in the number of tracked voxels in the frontal part of IFO. These findings were most pronounced in patients with severe frontal cognitive symptoms, such as dysexecutive problems, apathy and personality change. There was a strong correlation (r²= -0.84; p < 0,001) between disease stage and FA and ADC values in the CST.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>DTT for identification of neuronal tracts with subsequent measurement of FA and ADC is a useful diagnostic tool for demonstrating patterns of neuronal tract involvement in neurodegenerative disease. In selected tracts, FA and ADC values might act as surrogate markers for disease stage.</p